The Faith of Joseph..

I just couldn't wait to tell you what the Lord has just taught me.
I've had a day where I feel like everything I do is so completely disappointing to my dad. He has had a negative comment to say about EVERYTHING I've done lately--All my life choices. Where I go to college. My Sorority. My Future. Nothing seems good enough. I was starting to feel down and just completely discouraged. However, the Lord ALWAYS provides.

Matthew 14:13-36 was in part of my reading for the One Year Bible tonight. The first part of this passage is about the feeding of the 5,000 men (not to mention the women and children) that were there to listen to Jesus talk. His disciples were ready to send the people away into the villages for them to get their own food. And Jesus looks at them and says. Nah, why don't you feed them? And the disciples are like no dude, you're crazy. We only have five loaves of bread and two fish. That would barely feed 5 of us let alone 5,000+ people! But once again, I am completely reminded about how the Lord provides for us. He won't let us go! Jesus takes the food, looks up toward heaven, blesses it, and then they feed the people...and have PLENTY left over.
I was just reminded so much that the Lord provides PLENTY for His followers. He gives us what we need. And plenty of it. Who am I to care about what my dad thinks about my life choices? I KNOW that I am following the Lord's will...

The rest of that Matthew passage is when the disciples are caught in a storm at sea and Jesus walks on the water. Peter says Lord if that's you, tell me to come to you! And Jesus says, Okay, come. Well, like most of us, we're all on the Lord's side, until we get in the middle of something and it gets messy. "But when he saw the strong wind and the waves, he was terrified and began to sink.." v 30. Isn't that so true of us? We get so on board with Christ and then when we see the strong waves and wind, we get scared, start questioning, and begin to sink. I have done this PLENTY of times, especially now that I am getting very close to marriage.. I'm like woah, slow you're roll. I can't handle this. No this is too much, I'm not ready. OH YE OF LITTLE FAITH! YOU HAVE PRAYED ABOUT THIS. THE LORD HAS MADE IT CLEAR THAT THIS IS WHAT YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO DO! TRUST IN ME! JUST LIKE THE FEEDING OF THE 5,000 I WILL PROVIDE! HAVEN'T I ALWAYS...

Now this, brings me to the faith of Joseph.. The Old Testament reading for today was Genesis 44:1-45:28. This passage is when Joseph reveals himself to his brothers. Chapter 45:5-8 "But don't be upset, and dont be angry with yourselves for selling me to this place. It was God who sent me here ahead of you to preserve your lives. This famine that has ravaged the land for two years will last five more years, and there will be neither plowing nor harvesting. God has sent me ahead of you to keep you and your families alive and to preserve many survivors. So it was God who sent me here and not you. And he is the one who made me an adviser to Pharaoh--the manager of his entire palace and the governor of all Egypt." It is GOD who has sent me to Union, has placed me in Zeta, has placed me with the Most Amazing Man for me. It is GOD who has shown us His timing for us to get married and start a family. Even though my life is in a drought acceptance wise from the people around me the LORD has brought me here. Why should I be afraid?

What the Lord says about His Beloved

I've been thinking lately. About security. I know that we all struggle with our own insecurities. Life does not exist without them, especially for women. I just finished the book Lady in Waiting and it is phenomenal! I learned so much about the Lady that I need to be for my Knight in shining armor, who, by the way I am so excited about my future with! But, I know that we, as women, have this desire for a man. It's normal but a little unhealthy. You never know why the Lord has you waiting. Maybe your Prince is not a believer yet, or maybe he is a new believer that the Lord needs to grow to be your perfect mate. I say this to say, don't be dissatisfied with your set of circumstances, you're in them for a reason! Commit your dating life to the Lover of your soul, and let Him captivate you until he shows you your husband. By the way, the man I'm dating now, the man that I am going to marry, is my first boyfriend. He's the first man I really ever kissed and boy can I say that I am BEYOND thankful that he gets all of my heart. He doesn't just get part of it because I let other boyfriends walk away with a piece of me, but he gets ALL of me and that is SUCH a beautiful thing. I hope you'll be able to say the same.

I just recently started So Long, Insecurity by Beth Moore by the second time. Girls, I'm serious about finding my security in the Lord. While I was reading today, something stuck out in my mind. In her book, Beth says,

Men are not our problem; it's what we are trying to get from them that messes us up. We use guys like mirrors to see if we're valuable. Beautiful. Desirable. Worthy of Notice. Viable.

While this is so true, that's not what I was stuck on. She goes on to say

At times we really seem to think that our worth depends on qualities we have little control over, such as appearance or personality. We think someone else's opinion matters THAT much. We give other people so much power over us, and we need to get it back.

It's not only the men that we let determine our worth. It's the women! Can you believe that? That we let our fellow ladies judge us, tear us down, and hurt us. This hits home to me right now because my boyfriend and I are talking about getting engaged very soon. His family doesn't accept me, and they certainly don't love me. They never have really given me the chance to prove myself. And it has always just killed me that they don't like me.. I've never done a bad thing to their family. And I used to have a great relationship with his sister, and one day she just started to ignore me for seemingly no reason. And it just killed me. What had I done? What was so wrong with me? Why don't they love me, what is so bad about me?
But the truth is. I've done nothing. It's not me. And they don't define me. The Lord does. I can't tell you why they don't like me. And I'm done caring. The LORD has a plan for this.

I looked up some passages last night about what the Lord says is true of His Beloved. These verses do not even begin to scratch the surface. But I wanted to share them.

1 Peter 1:23--> I am a Child of God
Ephesians 1:7--> I am forgiven
Colossians 1:13--> I am delivered from the power of darkness (NOTHING CAN TOUCH ME!!)
Ephesians 6:10--> I am strong in the Lord
Ephesians 1:6--> I am ACCEPTED in Chirst!
Ephesians 1:4--> I am holy and blameless
Jeremiah 31:3--> I am loved with an everlasting love
Ephesians 2:10--> I am God's workmanship
Philippians 4:7--> I have the peace of God
Philippians 3:13-14--> I press toward the goal
1 Peter 2:9--> I am a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, I show forth His praise
II Corinthians 2:14--> I triumph in Christ
Romans 8:37--> I am more than a conqueror
Romans 8:38--> Nothing can separate me from His love
1 Thessalonians 1:4--> I am beloved of God
I John 5:18--> I am born of God and the evil one does not touch me
Colossians 2:10--> I am complete in Him
Romans 8:1--> I am free from condemnation
Isaiah 54:9
Psalm 17:8--> I am the apple of His eye

Girls. Take a hold of your security. Find your worth in the Lord and no one else!

Blessed are those who trust in the Lord and have made the LORD their hope and confidence. They are like trees planted along a river bank, with roots that reach deep into the water. Such trees are not bothered by the heat, or worried by long months of drought. Their leaves stay green, and they never stop producing fruit. --Jeremiah 17:7-8

As a father has compassion on his children, so the LORD has compassion on those who fear Him; for He remembers how we were formed, He remembers that we are dust. --Psalm 103:13-14